The true story of four North Perth residents and their quest to dine in every restaurant on Beaufort Street.

01 June 2010

Must Winebar

It was BOOTO’s 35th birthday and so it was decided that a visit to Must was indeed a must (like you’ve never heard that one before).

After a quick pre dinner drink at the Queens (wherein Stinks’ newest playmate Jimmy T was welcomed to the world of babies in prams in pubs), it was a mere hop, skip and a jump to Must.

As previously noted, none of the Bloggers are strangers to Must, (although it must be said BOOTO had never actually made it past the cocktail bar) however on this particular night, a quorum was finally established.

The night commenced with the Deliberator informing the group that two things were non negotiable: (1) the charcuterie platter was to be ordered; and

(2) he, and he alone, would order the wine and he may or may not consult the price before placing any of the said orders.

The Sponge’s credit card quivered. The Brains and BOOTO giggled like schoolgirls.

As the Sommelier approached, the Deliberator suggested both he and the Sponge partake of a cocktail to calm those wallet nerves whilst the Brains and BOOTO confirmed a chardy was definitely on the cards and left the ordering in the very capable hands of the Deliberator assisted of course by the sommelier (unless you’re a wine buff, you’ll need assistance in navigating the extensive range on offer at Must).

It was at this point that the Sponge wondered out loud what grape was used in Chablis, only to be answered in a rather dignified, posh, unDeliberator style voice that the Chablis was an appellation famous for its chardonnay, so the Chablis would be made from chardonnay grapes. Scoffs all round before the Deliberator called on the sommelier to back up his claim. And before we could stop him, the sommelier did indeed confirm that for the second time in 7 years, the Deliberator had got one over the rest of us. To say he handled the moment with grace and humility would be just plain lies. He managed to drop 'appellation' into the conversation a further 21 times during the course of the night.

But back to the food.

Underneath a dimly lit interior (suitably so for a certain birthday girl struggling with the idea of going up a survey group), the following entrees were ordered:

(1) A dozen freshly shucked natural oysters – you can never go wrong with these. (2) Must Charcuterie plate – the Deliberator was correct – this is a non negotiable for all you carnivores out there.

(4) BOOTO: pan fried gnocchi with lamb, caramelised onion, Sicilian green olive and shaved parmesan – so good it made you want to lick the plate.

(5) Chips for the table.

Dessert:

(1) BOOTO: apple tart – not bad, but any negative aspects could be down to the fact that she had eaten so much that by this stage of the night all she really wanted to do was roll over and die.

(2) Brains: saffron and vanilla crème brulee, orange and tequila sorbet and citrus tuile – certainly one of the best brulees she’s ever eaten, more brulees should contain saffron. More of every food should cotain saffron.

(3) Sponge: ice cream sundae thingy, nothing earth shattering here.

And so it was that after WAY too much meat and perhaps just a little over indulgence on the wine side of things (because in our opinion, there’s no such thing as too much of a good thing when it comes to wine), the Bloggers waddled through the dim interior of Must onto the bright lights of our beloved Beaufort Street. A little older yes (in Booto’s case) and all the more satisfied to know that Must is indeed a must dine venue in Perth.

In summary:

Service: Great sommelier, even if he did back up the Deliberator – the mileage on this one if going to last. And last. And last. Query the bling on one of the waitresses though – was there some sort of ho-down we didn’t know of that demanded sequined appliqué?

Food: Tick. Tick. Tick.

Highlight: Hard to cut one from the herd, but the charcuterie plate is non negotiable

Lowlight: The Deliberator being correct on the appellation point, and the weird dreams experienced from all that meat.

Rating: 4.5 appellations out of 5.

Will we be back: Some of us already have.

Details: You can find Must Winebar at 519 Beaufort Street, Highgate. It’s open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner, however one would recommend booking for dinner. You can call them on 9328 8255. We had a real slap up meal and the Deliberator kept to his promise to not consult the price before ordering the wine, so it did come to princely sum of $150.00 per head, but hey it’s not every day you jump up a survey group huh?

Beaufort Street Bloggers

It has been a long held tradition for the Beaufort Street Bloggers to eat together on a Thursday night. After all, Thursday is the new Friday. To spice up Thursday night dining in 2008, a unanimous decision was made to eat at every restaurant on Beaufort Street, starting from the top of Inglewood and working our way down to the city. There will undoubtedly be some lowlights (think Dial-A-Chop-Stix and the Civic Hotel), but there is a whole bunch of good food around this part of town. The rules are simple, to qualify, a restaurant must have room for us to sit in and be open on Thursday nights. This blog documents the results of this lofty challenge. If you want to contact the bloggers, please email beaufortstreetbloggers [at] gmail [dot] com

So who are the Beaufort Street Bloggers?

The Deliberator

World renowned (he has excessively deliberated over menus the world over, to the chagrin of many a waiter), the Deliberator takes pride in his ability to frustrate even the most tolerant of wait staff, let alone his long suffering fellow Beaufort Street Bloggers.

Reflecting on himself (in a positive light as always), the Deliberator lists his favourite past times as pork belly, champagne cocktails and falling asleep on other people’s couches. Upon review of what lies ahead of him in the 2008 Beaufort Street Challenge, the Deliberator remained focussed on the year ahead, stating only that he was glad there were going to be a few budget Thursday nights ahead, as he has already committed 3 months wages to the purchase of a ring from Tiffanys for a certain pixie haired blonde within the team.

Despite still harbouring a love of vegemite on toast from his university days, the Deliberator prides himself on his culinary prowess and exacting standards. He has declared 2008 the year he not only finally drives a waiter to suicide and/or mass murder, but also establishes himself as the West’s answer to the Lygon Street gangster, tipping that before the year is out the name “Deliberator” will be spoken with hushed reverence in cafes and restaurants the length and breadth of Beaufort St.

The Brains

Aptly named because she is indeed the “brains" behind the 2008 Beaufort Street Challenge and also, because sometimes she just seems so smart the entire team prefers that she orders for them, the Brains is a complex character – lawyer by day, avid restaurant reviewer by night and frustrated interior decorator for pretty much all of the time in between.

The 2008 Beaufort Street Challenge came to the Brains whilst on her 7th glass of champagne just after Christmas 2007. Throwing caution to the wind, she drained her glass, slammed the table and declared to all and sundry in a rather agitated voice “2008….2008 we’re doing it. We’re starting at the top and we’re not stopping til the end!” Upon seeing the puzzled stares of those around her , the Brains went on to explain in more detail that what she meant was that 2008 was the year she and her fellow diners would begin at the top of Beaufort Street and eat at every eating establishment before the year was out. Needless to say her fellow team members were yet again left reeling at the sheer genius that is “The Brains”.

The Brains is also the long suffering partner of the Deliberator, having accompanied him on his most recent overseas expeditions to restaurants throughout Europe and Asia. Amenable in nature and blessed with the patience of a saint, the Brains only has to see a Tiffany & Co. advertisement to remind herself that one day, one day very soon, it will all be worthwhile….

Bito (Bun in the Oven)

Reformed party girl whose previous mantra was “Thursday is the new Friday”, BITO is currently at the 24 week mark of an alcohol free sentence known to most as pregnancy. Whilst BYO and corkage are no longer of concern to BITO, it is testament to her spirit and commitment to the team that she has committed herself to the 2008 Beaufort Street challenge in the role of designated driver.

Even before eating for 2, BITO was a committed fan of various Beaufort Street establishments and did not have to be asked twice when contacted by the Brains with regards to the 2008 Beaufort Street Challenge, stating only that there was no bloody way she was doing Jackson’s degustation menu sans alcohol.

Married to “The Sponge”, Bito is renowned in the team for her new found patience and tolerance of drunkards in her automobile.

The Sponge

Standing at the immodest height of 6 foot 4”, with size 14 feet, the Sponge has an appetite known to send many a kitchen into a flurry and a capacity for alcohol that has seen more than the odd sommelier rubbing his hands in delight.

Responsible for BITO’s current plight, the Sponge sees 2008 as the year he becomes a first time father yes, but more importantly, the year in which finally establishes himself as force to be reckoned within the Beaufort Street precinct.

When asked what unique attributes he thought he brought to the 2008 Beaufort Street Challenge, the Sponge declared that whilst he preferred to think of himself as a bit of an “all rounder”, he did think his world class background in spaghetti marinara and a capacity to calculate corkage in the blink of an eyelid were going to prove invaluable to the team in the year ahead.